face mill vs fly cutter

Normally a face mill has multiple cutters, so if it e.g. has 8 cutters it can be fed into the workpiece 8 times as fast as a single-point flycutter. The point is time which is money ..

GWE

As it was said you can feed faster with the face mill. I just got a used mill/drill. and I can take some pretty healthy cuts with a 1 1/2" inserted cutter which uses 3 of the TPG322 inserts. I can justify a face mill because the cost of each corner on an insert is less than having a cutter sent out for sharpening. Last time I bought inserts I paid about $3.00 each for them. If I use one corner on 3 inserts every time I index the insert costs me $3.00. Also when I can afford to upgrade my mill to either a Bridgeport type or a number 2 horizontal mill with a vertical attachment my 1 1/2" face mill will work just fine there.

If I want a real nice finish and my machine isn't very ridged then a light cut with a fly cutter is the way to go.

My mill won't go any slower than 350 rpm, so I figure that I couldn't use a very large diameter fly cutter, so I use a 1 1/2" face mill with 3 TPG 322 inserts and it works just fine. Sometimes I look longingly at those who have flycutters with a 4" diameter swing, but I cant' go as slow as that 12 + inches per rev would require.

Pete Stanaitis

E. Walter Le Roy wrote: